Motherhood + Identity

I downloaded my first period tracking app in middle school. It was the first one that popped up in the App Store, and at the time, that was enough. I wasn’t comparing features or researching ownership structures. I was just trying to survive sixth-grade cramps and make sure I didn’t get caught off guard in light-washed jeans.That app followed me through high school and college. I never loved it, but I didn’t hate it either. It served its purpose. It told me when my period was coming, logged my s...

I graduated in May of 2025 with a degree in Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts — which, yes, is a mouthful, and yes, I’ve had to repeat it slowly in interviews more times than I can count. My school uses it as an umbrella term for anything related to media and entertainment: audio engineering, scriptwriting, video production, newsroom training, and everything in between that keeps a media company running.Originally, I was on the scriptwriting track with the intention of becoming a film or T...

As she discovers the world, I’ve been rediscovering myself.My daughter is six months old now, and ever since bringing her earthside, my life has been full of challenges, surprises, and a kind of love I didn’t think I was capable of.Thanks for reading thought daughter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Each month with her has brought new highs and lows. As her curiosity about the world grows from discovering what’s under the coffee table, watching the neighborhood cats o...

Becoming a stay-at-home mom wasn’t something I overcomplicated. It made sense for my stage of life right now, and I stepped into it knowing my days would look different. What I didn’t fully anticipate was how much it would reshape the way I create.My daughter wakes up around 7:30 or 8 most mornings, but on a good day, I’m up an hour before her. I wash up, throw something together for breakfast, check my email, Slack, and Notion while the house is still quiet. There’s something about those early...

I grew up in California — San Diego, the Inland Empire, and San Francisco. I moved to CA when I was nine and stayed until I was twenty-three, so even if it’s not where I was born, it’s the state that raised me. So when my husband’s job in the military moved us to Arizona, I assumed the adjustment would be daunting. Political in a way that felt unavoidable, Arizona had been all over the news during the last couple of presidential election cycles as a swing state, so I knew I wasn’t walking into a...

For a long time, motherhood wasn’t at the top of my list. I wanted a degree first. I wanted to travel. I felt like I had to live a few “main character” chapters in my 20s before diving into something as life-altering as parenthood. Now, with my bachelor’s degree in hand, stamps from eight countries in my passport, and a lot of growing up already behind me, I’m here. Nearly three months after my college graduation, I will very soon be welcoming my first child — and it was all my choice. I know I’...

It was just a few days before Christmas, and I was packing for a holiday trip with my family to Big Bear Lake, California — completely unaware that my life was about to change. I’d been feeling off. I figured I’d picked something up while traveling — maybe a cold or some random airport bug, nothing serious. But after ruling out the flu and getting a negative COVID result, there was one last test I hadn’t taken.It was early morning, and I was still groggy and not feeling well. My partner was spen...